"COMMONWEALTH QUERY"
Sta,—Alastair Buchan's outspoken article in The Spectator of January 4th cannot have failed to arouse great interest amongst those of your readers who believe that the successful evolution of the British Commonwealth is essential to the future of civilisation. Your correspondent maintains that few citizens of the self-governing Dominions recognise any close association between their own country and parts of the British Common- wealth other than Great Britain herself. In the first place he is unable to detect any noticeable feeling of brotherhood among the Dominions themselves. Secondly he considers that the Dominions are in no wise conscious of any particular association between themselves and the Dependencies of the British Empire.
During a period of nearly five years as a prisoner of war in Germany from 1940 to 1945, I had opportunity to discuss very openly and at con- siderable length such problems as these with Dominion officers, some of whom were exceptionally well informed on imperial affairs and all of whom were deeply interested in the issues at stake. Although Major Buchan fails to mention the special association which clearly exists between Australia and New Zealand, his conclusions about Dominion brotherhood may be substantially correct. I recall a number of really excellent lectures in various prison camps ; all were most carefully pre- pared by representative groups from the Dominions, and many were delivered by men of considerable distinction—a lecture on Canada, for instance, was given by the Commanding Officer of a Canadian battalion who had recently won the Victoria Cross at Dieppe and whose legal ex- perience included several appearances before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. In these lectures we were invariably given a frank and full analysis of the attitude of the people of the Dominion towards Great Britain, and this always proved of great interest to men from the other Dominions. I cannot, however, recall many references to inter-Dominion relationship ; certainly this aspect of Commonwealth affairs was never emphasised.
The connection between the Dominions and the British Dependencies presents a rather different problem for the very reason that the latter are in fact dependent whereas the former are not. Although self-government may be the final goal, our colonial empire and India are as yet ruled ultimately by the British Government—a government responsible to a British parliament which is, in its turn, responsible to an exclusively British electorate.
Mr. Buchan is concerned at the ignorance about imperial affairs which he has found in the Dominions. My own observations have been different but they were of course somewhat limited. If, as Major Buchan believes, the inhabitants of Great Britain are generally far better informed on these affairs than are the people of the Dominions, then I would like to suggest that the crux of this matter lies in sense of responsibility. The idea that more men from the Dominions should serve in the Dependencies is very welcome. At present, however, it is under the British Government that they must serve, and this is not likely to arouse any widespread interest in colonial affairs among the people of the Dominions. Such a result would be obtained if the Dominion Governments were themselves able to accept some of the responsibility for the administration of the de- pendent communities of the British Commonwealth. How this responsi- bility could be jointly exercised raises an important issue which is not confined to this sphere of imperial activity.—I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
DAVID MAULS, B.A.O.R.
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